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Ten things to "like" about $4.00 gas? Kind of like saying: ten things to like about prostate exams performed without lube! But what the heck, you all know by now that I always look for the positive side of every challenge, so here are ten things that I love about $4, $5 and $6+ gas prices.

1.) I no longer have to wait in line to gas up. There are no lines!! All the people who make less money than me are carpooling on mopeds, so I have all the islands to myself!!

2.) The guilt is gone. I used to feel guilty about only paying 19.9 cents a gallon in the early 70's. I kept offering the "full service" attendant more money but they always turned it down, making me feel more guilt. Now I am free to feel good about myself again at the self serve island!

3.) If gas cost less, consumers would do silly things like travel more, spend more money online and in brick and mortar stores and promote healthy commerce. eew!!

4.) I never used my credit card to make a gas purchase unless the amount was over $150.00. The 40 gallon tank on my turbo diesel pickemup truck used to cost less than $80 to fill, so I always paid cash. Now with diesel at $5 or more, I get to use my credit card a lot, and that gives me lots of airfare mileage on my AM Ex card!!

5.) Friends who live down the mountain in Denver visited us a lot more when gas was cheap. They always came up to do BBQ's at our place and enjoy the mountain scenery and cooler climate. Now that prices are over $4, I don't have to do as much bbq'ing and that saves Ellen and I a couple C notes a month!! It also cuts down on our natural gas bill for the BBQ grill and smoker, which in turn fights global warming. Imagine if every household in America lit their BBQ grills at the same time and ran them for two hours... the polar ice caps would melt in one day! So I feel much better about our reduced BBQ grill and smoker use! Call me a "green machine"

6.) Europeans are becoming more accepting of us now for good reason. Until we started paying these higher gas prices, we were not pulling our weight in the world economy, foreign aid, defense or humanitarian causes. This improving acceptance makes it much easier for Americans to travel abroad without worrying about what the barista at the french sidewalk bistro may think about them. Hey, wow, if Americans get to travel again someday, that's gonna be a real plus!

7.) NY has always led the nation in charging the most for everything, be it gas, cigarettes, hotels, taxis, clothes, legal counsel, and / or everything else. As a result they have been awarded the honor of being called the "big apple." I love fruit. Especially big apples. IMO, it is our God given right to pay as much for goods and services as NY'ers do. Now, finally, we are getting that opportunity and I could not be happier about it! Finally, parity reaches Colorado!

8.) Shipping, postage and transportation costs in this country have been too low for too many years. Now that gas prices are killing the transportation and shipping industries, we are finally getting the chance to pay more for food, clothing, iPods, medicines and everything else we get to buy.

9.) As a landlord, I am better assured that tenants will be tied into my properties instead of getting these crazy ideas in their heads about actually owning property of their own! How the hell does a slumlord make money if tenants keep buying their own places? "Thank You" a million times over OPEC!

10.) Perhaps my biggest "feel good" about $4, $5 and (soon) $6 a gallon gas is that a dear (and always becoming dearer friend) of mine in Orlando comes over to fish with me often while we are at our winter home on the gulf and when he does, my boat gas costs decrease by half, but even more meaningful to this old salt is that I get to enjoy a special friendship that $6 gas cannot dent!!

I HONESTLY hope gas goes higher in the USA. It is the only way this country and it's big car makers will actually embrace electric cars so we can get our "fuel" from any source that produces electricity.

Also to see improvements in renewable energy sources. One thing about us Americans is that when prices get too high we finally innovate instead of just accepting it.

This World is Not My HomeWe're gonna go inside, we're gonna go outside, inside and outside. . . And then we're gonna go go go and we're not gonna stop til we get across that goalline! Quotes from the movie Rudy, 1993

Actually, Diesel is already over $5 in many areas of the country and gasoline will do the same soon. Most of us probably don't think about fuel costs past what we use in our own cars. However, the real dilemma is the effect that gas and oil have on the transportation, manufacturing, shipping and agricultural industries, which is what keeps our economy and consumer markets alive and affordable. Hey it's great to be able to sell things on the internet and make a living without leaving home. But those goods have to be delivered, as do all consumer and commercial goods. But at what price will they be delivered, and how does steadily increasing prices affect sales, which in turn affect earnings?

Undoubtedly higher gas prices act as an incentive to explore alternative vehicle fuel sources and no doubt, in some ways that is good because human nature is such that we do NOT do anything until there is no choice. However, if we think past our own personal use of gasoline and look at the big picture of how fuel prices hurt us all, the fact remains that we must still have reasonably priced gas and diesel long after alternative sources are developed for smaller vehicle commuter use.

The price of gas and diesel fuel affects every aspect of consumer costs for goods and services, which in turn drains your wallet in numerous other ways other than gas to drive to a concert or the beach ;-)

Unfortunately, electric, wind and solar powered engines are not capable of powering the trucks and trains that deliver everything we consume and rely upon in our daily lives. Solar and electric engines cannot replace jet engines for the airline industry, nor will an electic or solar motor (that needs to be recharged every XX miles pull a 60 ton load of food over the mountains from from CA to IL. Sure, of course, we can be more energy conscious on many levels in our personal lives, but we also need reasonable fuel costs now and in the future. (even if you never drive)

Barring that, I kind of doubt that electric powered mopeds or Prius hybrids will replace tractor trailers, trains, ships or airlplanes as the method by which goods are delivered to keep commerce alive and affordable. Now I'm off to have another skinny half caf, decaf, no whip soy latt'e while I ponder my next green moment revelation about why I love higher fuel costs...

Exactly, most people have no idea how much higher fuel prices will eventually impact their lives.

That's to be expected. Most of us tend to think in terms of our own cars or transportation needs, but we don't generally think too deeply about the much bigger picture.

When we cook a steak on the grill, we don't think about how much of the cost of that steak was attributable to fuel that played a big part in getting it to our BBQ grill. The tractors that cultivated the soil to grow grazing pastures. The trains, ships and trucks that haul the grain and feed that the cattle eat. The packaging that keeps that nice looking steak fresh and looking good (yep, petroleum is used to make nearly all food packaging)

Every good we buy that is plastic or a form thereof is petroleum based. That includes the screen you are looking at right now, the keyboard you peck at, the casing, circuit boards and even internal chips and resistors that make up our computers all use petroleum in their composition. The endless list of products we use, as well as the machinery and equipment that are all impacted by oil price is far too long to list, but as oil costs rise, we will all feel impact. We have already and that impact will continue to add stress to product costs as prices rise. Solar and electric motors will not replace the fuel driven engines needed for commercial production so it will never be a choice of either / or. On a personal level, we can cut down our personal use of energy, but let's not be so naive as to think that what it cost you to drive you car each week is the only challenge here.

I can always get a more fuel efficient car for my personal use, that's a no brainer. But if one takes the time and thought to see beyond his/her own little world, the much bigger picture has nothing to do with your personal transportation costs. I don't want to see the cost of virtually everything we need to buy increased every month because fuel costs dictate higher prices. If a windmill or an electric motor can power heavy equipment, long range transportation of commercial goods shipping, and manufacturing, sign me up for two of each!!